


When Two Becomes Three

by SunnyMae



Series: Apparently Things Get Easier [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Human, Dead John Winchester, Domestic, Established Relationship, M/M, Teenage!Sam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-11
Updated: 2015-05-11
Packaged: 2018-03-30 00:56:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3917179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunnyMae/pseuds/SunnyMae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A look into Dean and Benny awkwardly assuming parental roles in Sam’s teenage life.<br/> <br/>Or: Five times Dean and Benny were typical dads and one time Benny stepped up his parenting game.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When Two Becomes Three

1\. Morning Breakfast Dads

 

“Good morning, Sammy!” Dean called immediately after Sam exited his room. He sounded oddly chipper for a Tuesday. It was almost eleven, a few days until Christmas, and Dean doesn’t work on Tuesdays. Usually Sam sees him around four pm, where he migrates from the bedroom to sleep on the couch.

“Morning, Dean.” But when he turned the corner and into the kitchen, he spots Benny flipping stacks in his brother’s sweatpants. It took a moment to process. “Oh. Ew.”

The guest chuckled as he plated the pancake skillfully, topping a tower. “Good to see you, too.” Benny took off his ‘ _Count down til Sausage Fest’_ apron. Dean had bought the apron for him at the last festival. “Get some plates?”

Sam grabbed the silverware and plates. With a second thought, he also snatched the bear bottle of syrup from the pantry. He quickly set the table and sat in front of Dean. He occasionally read a current newspaper, a habit Sam encouraged ever since Dean tried to celebrate his birthday nearly a month early.

“Anything interesting?” he asked. 

“The mayor’s not planning to run again, but don’t worry, the local dentist shows promise. The sun’s going to be up this weekend so the weather’ll perfect for the beach. And--” Dean flipped a page before making a shocked face, “Jon’s attempt at sarcasm failed to impress Garfield.”

Sam nodded, acting just as serious.

Benny joined them a few seconds later, sitting close enough to his brother to remind him why he was disgusted earlier.

Sam scowled, “Dean, I don’t want to know when you’ve had sex.” 

“I don’t want to hide anything from you, especially after the first time!”

The first time Benny had stayed for breakfast, Sam spotted him before his brother. He had immediately started screaming (puberty has yet to touch the poor boy) and threw whatever was in his hand at him. His brother had ran out of the bathroom in only his underwear to find Benny defensively holding a frying pan while explaining and Sam shouting, “ _Prove it!”_.

But look at them now! The only pan used was for cooking. 

Dean grinned while Benny’s arm slung around Dean’s chair. The other arm waved towards the impressive number of pancakes. “Cheer up, kid, I made enough to keep up with you.” 

They passed the plate around and each took a stack. Sam couldn’t even feel embarrassed for taking the most because it looked delicious. Like perfect, premade circles from a box. Dean gave Benny a quick peck as thanks before cutting into the pancakes. “Buckle up, Sammy boy, diner quality stuff.”

Benny snorted, “That’s impossible. You don’t even have eggs.”

Sam slowed in confusion. “Wait, what’s in them?”

“I managed to find mayonnaise packets in the pantry.” he told Sam between bites.

He scrunched his face in momentary disgust, until Sam considered how much he already consumed. It tasted like pancakes, and he’s managed through worse. He finally just shrugged and ate with the same gusto as his brother. 

They ate in silence for a few minutes with Dean finishing first. He patted his stomach happily and then watched the rest of the table. He kept glancing between the two of them, a dopey smile permanent on his face. 

“This is nice.” he finally said when Sam cocked his head in his direction. Benny nodded in agreement as he continued to chow. 

The youngest murmured, “This is getting a really domestic vibe.” It was much more of an observation rather than a complaint.

Dean laughed and took a bite from Sam’s plate. “Good.”

 

2\. Lame Dad Jokes

 

Dean and Benny sat arm to arm of each other on the couch. Their eyes focused on the television. A spin off of the Jaws theme played in the background, children screamed. They decided instead to talk over the B-rate movie. 

Dean snorted as a shit CGI shark jumped onto the shore. “Imagine if you saw a shark. I’d be doing a lot more than yellin’.”

“I’d have a heart attack.” Benny joked, “My cholesterol’s higher than a junkie.” Sam entered in through the front door. He immediately rushed into the kitchen for some leftover chicken pasta without greeting them.

Dean—after pausing to fruitlessly wave at Sam—rejoined, sounding surprised and earnest, “Are you serious? ‘Cuz we can start jogging. We could have matching tracksuits.” Anyone could tell he was imagining some two-tone monstrosity they would wear together. Like dorks. In complete truthfulness, it’d be funny to pick Sam up from school.

God, now Benny’s considering it.

But he shook his head mirthfully. “Careful, old lady Jones might figure out we aren’t just _“good buddies.”_ ” The homophobic landlord from upstairs gave them cookies and was lenient of late payments. 

When Sam emerged with an open Tupperware, Dean patted the seat beside him. 

“Are you guys watching the movie?” Sam asked as he grabbed the remote off of the floor beside the couch. He sat in the offered spot.

“You can change it if you want.” They literally turned on the tv and hadn’t bothered to change the channel. The shark killed another person on screen, causing an identical amount of mundane amusement for Benny as it had in the beginning. 

Benny nudged Dean, “My cholesterols fine; if we should worry about anyone, it should be you.”

The older Winchester squawked, “What! I’m in tip-top shape!”

“Benny’s right, you eat a burger every day.” Sam joined. He flicked through several channels before stopping at _Law & Order_. It was a third way through and hitting its first plot twist. 

Dean shrugged lopsidedly, “I’m supporting local businesses.”

“Benny charges you?” Sam tilted his head in surprise.

“Discounted.” he corrected.

“Free if he orders a salad.” Benny added, “Or a vegan burger.”

The man literally shivered in response, “Am I rabbit?” Sam and Benny shared a look. The ‘ _we’re dealing with the unreasonable’_ look. 

They quieted down to watch an episode of a survival reality show. The camera focused on a woman in her mid-30’s. She ripped her blouse and it showed a bit of—

“A breaststroke.” Dean suddenly blurted. He appeared as shocked and confused as the other two before his face morphed in amazement.

“What’s that?” Benny asked after a few second of his boyfriend not explaining himself.

He paused, allowing the tension to build up. “What’s it called when you have a heart attack while you’re swimming?” 

“A breaststroke?” Benny supplied. Oh. A smile began to form on himself. “That’s sharp.” he said with a chuckle. 

Sam, however, just frowned. “Lame.”. 

“Sorry, I didn’t know you could do better.” Dean said sarcastically. 

“Alright,” he conceded, “it’s clever but the timing?”

Before Dean could reply, Benny interrupted. “I know you’re not a rabbit.”

They both eyed him expectantly. After a few seconds, Dean asked, “What’s that?”

“I know you’re not a rabbit. You don’t have a lucky foot, at most seven inches.” Dean laughed and smacked Benny’s knee. 

Sam, however, literally squawked and threw himself off the couch. “Holy shit, I didn’t need to know that! I’m leaving.” He went straight for his room in hopes of forgetting what he had just heard.

The last thing Sam heard before his door shut was a unison, “Hi, Leaving,” 

 

3\. Supportive Dads Matter

 

“What’s wrong? What did Sam do?” The door swung open and Dean was practically sweating out of his shirt. He hadn’t been in this building in several years. The last time he was in the principal’s room, he had to drop out. “I swear, he’s got a troubled past but we can get through to him!”

He scanned the room to only see another kid nursing his face and a man who appeared to be the boy’s father. Sam had a bruise on his cheek too, but overall was in better shape. He finally read the tight atmosphere in the room. 

Mrs. Forrest, principal of Nightingale High School, cleared her throat. “Please sit, Mr. Winchester.”

Dean sat in the only open seat, with Sam separating him from the other presumed family.

The room became even tenser when Benny trailed in. He frowned at the lack of seats, and decided to stand directly behind Dean’s chair. Sam cocked his head, “What’re you doing here?” he sounded off, but not upset.

“It’s date night.” Benny explained. Tuesdays were the only day both Dean and Benny were free from college and work. They also preferred to start date night early so to avoid dinner prices.

Mrs. Forrest appeared confused at Benny’s arrival but the father openly asked, “Who are you two? I wanted to talk to this boy’s parents.” His tone was unnecessarily cold.

Dean waved from practically across the room, only slightly miffed by the mistake. “Dean Winchester, Sam’s brother and guardian. This is Benny, my partner.”

The man nodded, still guarded, “Holland, father of Jackson here.”

Mrs. Forrest cleared her throat. “Let’s begin.” She entwined her hands on the desk in front of her and regarded Dean firmly. “Sam was in a fight.”

Dean’s eyes widened in surprise. He’d expected something dumb, like a prank, but nothing serious from his typically pacifist brother. “This has never happened.” he finally answered.

Sam had taken to staring at his shoes when Dean tried to see his face again.

Holland twisted his body so he could see Dean and Benny. He scowled at them, “Your brother attacked my son for expressing his religious beliefs.”

Which was nearly unbelievable. “What happened?” Dean queried, his question directed to the principal. He felt wary towards the increasingly hostile attitude the parent was displaying.

“The teachers had to pull these two apart in the hallway around an hour ago.” It was about one pm now. “Sam ripped down Jackson’s poster he had hung up for his club, which started the fight. Both of them will be receiving three days of suspension.”

“What!” Both the Hollands looked angry.

“Jackson gets punched and you want to suspend him! You can’t punish him for defending himself!”

“Mister Holland, our policy requires that your son be forced to fight. The teachers reported your son not only fighting back instead of finding an adult, but insulting Sam while they had their tussle.” Mr. Holland glared at his son who sputtered.

“It’s not my fault! What if he hit me while I’m running! I defended myself—everyone knows that policy is BS.”

Benny asked, “Who threw the first punch?”

“Me,” Sam finally spoke up. His eyes were steel, but he still kept his vision on the ground.“and I’d do it again.”

“Sam,” Dean sighed.

Sam’s head snapped up and he finally met Dean’s eyes. “Jackson’s a piece of crap!” Dean hadn’t seen him this upset since… he didn’t remember. “Do you know what those posters said?”

Mrs. Forrest reprimanded, “It doesn’t matter, Sam, we have zero tolerance for violence.”

“It had this crap about damnation and then a list of students that they thought were gay.” At seeing Dean’s perturbed face, he turned to Mrs. Forrest to finish his point. “It’s homophobic. It’s discriminatory.”

“We have rights—” Mr. Holland started but Dean cut him off.

“So do we! What’s happening to Jackson?” 

“I’ve already spoken with him. One more crack like this, and we will give him a month of detention.” she seemed pleased with herself.

“Detention?” Dean glanced around the room in disbelief. “That’s a joke, correct? I used to get detention for copying homework, not _threatening kids_.” he grounded out.

“Threatening?” Mr. Holland’s cheeks tinted red in disbelief and outrage. “Whose kid actually hit whom?”

“Your kid is targeting other children, and not to the least spreading homophobia.” Dean’s voice dropped ten degrees. “You think it doesn’t mean anything, but it does. Kids are impressionable, and all this teaches them is that it’s okay to make fun of the gay kid. I don’t know what kind of bullshit—”

Mrs. Forrest hushed him with a stern, “Son-”

“You better have meant sir.” He glared at her, daring her to patronize him again. “Suspend Sam for a couple of days, fine. But if Jackson doesn’t receive actual punishment for the posters, we’re going to have a problem.”

By the end of the meeting, Jackson had an additional day of suspension. It was also to serve as his first and only warning prior an expulsion. The other family couldn’t get anything about religion to stick, considering the contents of the poster.

Benny broke his poker face outside of the office. He gave Dean a one-armed hug. “That was inspirational, sugar.” 

Sam also smiled and said genuinely, “Thanks, Dean.”

“You had my back, so I got yours.” Dean ruffled his brother’s hair. Before they reached their car, they heard someone clear his throat behind them. They turned to see Mr. Holland with his son skulking beside him. 

“This isn’t over.” he hissed, face flushed from anger and, probably, embarrassment.

Dean looked tired as hell so Benny took over. Benny motioned for the Winchesters to enter the car before he gave his reply. 

“Shut the fuck up.” When Mr. Holland froze in shock, he continued, “Don’t talk to us. Just get away from us. We won’t bother you as long as you don’t bother us.”

Mr. Holland shook his head in disgust. “You people think you receive special treatment.”

“Don’t bring that shit anywhere near us. And not near any school, neither. It ain’t right. These kids deserve to feel safe and your punk there ain’t trying for that.”

“You don’t know anything about my kid.”

“And I want to keep it that way.” Benny turned around and entered the Impala door resolutely. 

Dean grinned and gave him a _nice one_ , before turning on the engine and leaving the parking lot. 

“Thanks, guys.” Sam smiled with his backpack tucked into his lap.

“You’re still in trouble.” Dean reminded him. But he quickly winked through the back mirror. “You’re going to have to tip the waiter when we go out for dinner tonight.”

 

4\. Cheering at Sam’s tournament

 

Dean—of course—sneaked in junk food to Sam’s regional tournament for debate. They sat in a small lecture hall, though it was enough to comfortably house the crowd. Their chairs were a little wobbly but it was entertaining discreetly watching Ruby’s dad pretend he wasn’t bothered.

The mom in front of him gave him a nasty look when she caught whiff of his cold popcorn but he paid her no mind. Actually, he chewed his food louder.

“Hun, it’s only a couple of hours. You aren’t going to starve.” Benny poked at the cold lump of a can in Dean's jacket pocket. He hoped he had enough sense not to bring alcohol into a school campus.

“You don’t know that. And don’t think I only thought of myself.” From his left sleeve, he pulled out a couple of taquitos in a napkin. “I grabbed them from the 7-11.” The drive was thankfully under two hours. Before arriving to Tallahassee, they had stopped for gas.

Benny rolled his eyes but took them. “You know me too well.” He had an unfortunate fondness for gas station Tex-mex. 

As they ate, the lights dimmed slightly. A graying man took the stage and spoke in a nasally voice, “Welcome, friends and family, I am Professor Bender. I work as the English Professor at Florida State University. I’m honored to have been selected to present this tournament. Thank you all for coming to support the contestants. First, I’d like to apologize for far travelers. The location was non debatable." He paused for the sparse laughter. Benny pitied the guy but Mr. Bender grinned, apparently pleased with the reaction. 

After an introduction of the four judges, a line of students filled the stage."Let’s give a warm welcome to the top eight high schools in the region!” There was light clapping as he introduced the schools, though Nightingale High School received an especially loud applause from the young couple.

Like embarrassingly and inappropriately loud. To be honest, Benny drank a bit on the drive here. Dean was feeding off of his ridiculousness. Sam blushed and mouthed “ _stop_ ” in their direction.

“Go Sam!” Dean yelled as Benny did a whistle. “You need to teach me how to do that.”

They quieted down as two unfamiliar high schools remained on the stage. After the winner was announced, another high school came out along with Sam’s team.

Dean managed to yell, “You’ve got this, Crows!” when the announcer directed the audience (Dean and Benny) to save the applause for later.

The Nightingale Debate team won their debate, and the duo were enthusiastic but stuck to clapping. Being indirectly called out by a balding, forty year-old man had them a little ashamed. They watched the competition narrow down with undisguised boredom.

Dean fell asleep on Benny’s shoulder by the time the top two were weeded out.

“The Nightingale Debate Team and Tesla Heights Debate Team will now compete for a spot in the National competition.” 

Benny hadn’t cared about their topic—it was NSA. He literally has no online presence whatsoever. Kevin does the Google and Facejournal/Personbook/whatever for the diner—but he can guess who won as the teams gave their closing statements. He’s a little more than thankful, especially considering they’ve been there for well over three hours. 

Dean leaned forward and grinned as Sam spoke. The other team looked worried, if not a little impressed.

As the period of deliberation within judges table occurred, Mr. Bender returned to the stage.

“A few more minutes until we receive the results. Let’s first give an applause to all of our participants this year.” He paused for the clapping, and it was livelier as a handful of teams were in the audience after losing their round. Bender said a few more thanks for school, judges, parents, and more words blah blah blah. Benny took a sip of Dean’s bottle. He had been slightly disappointed to find it was just water in the beginning.

Finally a judge walked onto the stage with a sheet of paper. “First place in the Regional Debate Tournament goes to Nightingale High School.” 

In that moment, it became obvious exactly which parent had a kid at ABHS. Dean stood up and yelled Sam’s name as well as a _Go Crows!_ Sam ducked his head modestly. He had a bright smile as he hugged his fellow team members. Even Ruby, whom Dean knew was actively competing for Valedictorian with Sam. Which was weird considering they were only sophomores.

Benny leaned into Dean and grabbed his shoulder, “That’s our killer!” he cheered.

Sam waved towards them with his plaque in one hand.

 

5\. Learner’s Permit

 

“How was the ride?”

“You’re the worst.”

Dean snickered loudly. He was unpacking his backpack. He had just arrived from community college and was excited to hear about their ride. Sam could take his driver’s license test in a couple of months, and only recently had he decided to start practicing. Today, Dean’s schedule was too hectic but Benny volunteered.

“He’s not that bad.” 

 

Benny raised an eyebrow. “Never took you for a liar.” he said playfully.

Dean held his hands out defensively. “Okay, I should’ve given you more warning.” 

Sam came out of his room. Considering being sixteen, Dean could see how hard he was trying to hide his excitement. “Get this, Benny took us to the highway!” He beamed with pride and the brothers high fived. “Up I-19. I was a little slow but I think I’m getting the hang of this.” 

“How slow?” he asked skeptically. Sam’s version of fast was almost speed limit.

Sam shrugged and replied nonchalantly, “Slow enough for the sheriff pulled us over.”

“Jody?”

“Yep. Benny was scared as crap.” 

“I hadn’t known Jody was the sheriff!” Benny pouted. His diner was far enough away to serve the neighboring county. He wasn’t as familiar with their area's law enforcement (though to be fair Dean also had plenty of close encounters in the past. He was a scrappy teen).

Jody had been excited to see them. At first, she pulled the Impala over because she recognized the vehicle but not the driving. She had assumed that either a, Dean's car had been stolen, or b, Dean was driving under the influence.

At seeing Sam's young and perky face, she cooed the typical _“aren’t you getting old?”_ spiel older people liked to give to kids. In the end, she instructed Sam to kick it up at least ten miles per hour on the interstate and sent them on their way.

“You met her at the Sam’s relay.” Dean reminded him, “I remember saying, “Meet the sheriff, Benny!”” He did remember meeting Jody at the Relay for Life event. She was part of the local public safety team but he apparently hadn’t remembered the introduction.

A shrill ringer came from Sam's room. A violin cover of an unrecognizable pop song. “That’s my phone,” he said, quickly leaving to answer his phone.

Dean hummed when Sam closed his door. “Not to underplay Sam finally driving on the interstate, but you’ve got balls, Lafitte.”

It was quiet for a second while Dean dug through his fridge for a snack.

Benny finally, cautiously began, “So I'm the first to take him to the highway…”

“Yeah, man, good job. Shit, you guys could’ve seriously died!” They laughed together at the truth of the statement.

“Sam said you already took him.” Benny offered.

“Nope, I thought he could use some time." Dean seemed very alright with the white lie Sam had fed Benny. "Have you seen that kid drive? Right out of the driveway, I was shitting my pants.”

“You’re okay with that?”

He squinted at Benny curiously before replying with a confused tone, “I didn’t actually shit my pants?” 

“No, I took him to the highway.” Benny corrected.

“Why would I care?”

“I thought you woulda wanted to be the one to take him out there.” he explained. “I mean you made a huge deal about driving." 

When Sam first received his learner's permit, Dean got, in an understatement, emotional. He got teary eyed, had a little celebration between the three of them in Benny's diner, and boasted to nearly everybody about being the first to take his brother driving.

Later, Benny learned it was about their father. John had been so prideful at supervising Dean's first drive, he made nearly the same amount of fuss as Dean had. Dean had told Benny the night of Sam's first test spin that the idea of finally sharing the Impala with Sam, sharing the memories that John would've made, really ”fucked with his heart.”

Dean smiled, touched by the consideration, "Don't worry, Button, I got over it as soon as I realized Sam's probably going to take a bus for life." He nodded solemnly in agreement. They were only half joking when they talked about Sam's driving. 

Dean suddenly turned to him, looking much more serious than he had in the past five minutes. "I'm seriously glad you brought him to I-19." Benny was about to say that he gets it, but Dean continued, "It’s important you two get along. You know I love you, right, Benny?”

 

“I love you, too.” he replied openly. Benny noticed Dean move forward and met him halfway.

“You probably already guessed this when I asked you to move in,” Dean paused to intertwine their fingers and caught Benny’s eyes. “but I’m in this for the long run. I want you to be part of this tiny family. All in, one hundred percent. Do or die, or a proper break up, at least.”

Benny kissed Dean square on the lips. “Let’s never have that ‘cuz I’m in.” His hand moved to gently grab Dean’s neck and pull him down towards him. “One hundred percent, do or die.”

 

1+ Sometimes Benny has to dad without Dean

 

“We’re not a charity case, Sam.” Dean’s eyes squinted in anger. He’s nearly seizing and Benny remained passive from the couch. He hasn’t lived with the Winchesters long enough to witness a serious fight between the two.

Sam threw his hands up, “They’re just offering to buy me some clothes!” But when he saw his brother start to shake his head, he stomped off into his room. Dean groaned when he heard the door slam and the lock turn.

He wiped a hand over his eyes in exasperation. He crossed the short hall after he breathed deeply. 

“Sam, Sammy,” Dean knocked on the door and jiggled the door handle. “Dammit!” he snarled, laying a heavy hand on the wood, “Fine, act like a child! No wonder they’re treating you like one!” 

And if there was anything Benny knew Sam hated being called... He decided to cautiously walk over to Dean in case he needed to play mediator.

“Fuck you, Dean!” the room remained closed but it sounded like Sam was leaning against the door. “They just want to help and you never take anyone’s help! Why are you being so stupid about this?”

“Do you know what would’ve happened if I ran around taking any handout I could get?” Dean backed away from the door, growing in volume with every word. “Everything I've been given, I paid back. The only debt over my head came from Dad's grave, and fuck, is one set of collectors ruthless.” Benny tried to lay a comforting hand on Dean’s shoulders but he jerked out away. “I fought for everything I have now, and when I see this house, at you, I know for a fucking fact that no one can take it away!” 

After a beat, Sam replied.

“You’re right.” both of their eyes widened in disbelief. But nothing's more stubborn than a Winchester. “Devon’s mom is going to break into my room and steal back the shirts if we’re not careful!”

“That’s not what I’m saying, you little shit-” Dean tried to slam his hand against the door but Benny grabbed his arm sternly. His face whipped his head Benny’s way. “What!”

“It’s almost 4PM.” he said simply. It wasn’t a lie, and god, was Benny glad to have an excuse to stop this.

His eyes shifted behind him to see the clock. “Shit.” He pulled away from Benny. He needed to change his clothes for work. “Fuck, you know what? Whatever. Whatever! I’m going to work, Sam! Hope you’re off your menstrual cycle when I get back!”

“Good one!” Sam yelled back, voice still muffled by the door. “Go work your crappy hours to make your crappy pay because apparently everything’s on loan otherwise!” In a quieter voice that everyone definitely heard in the small apartment, “So much for fight.”

Dean blinked and Benny could definitely see them shimmer. “Dean, he didn’t mean that.” 

“I gotta go, Benny.” He nearly shoved past him. His voice was low and quiet and he adamantly refused to look at Sam’s door. “Rufus’s gonna have my hide if I’m late again.”

After Dean closed the door, all Benny could hear was his own breath. He eventually called out, “Sam?” An alternate rock song started to play from the room like a reply.

He sighed and decided to watch some television as he worked instead. He hadn’t gotten a degree in business management so someone else would crunch his diner’s numbers. A few hours passed and the _Friends_ marathon was nearly over.

Benny stood up to stretch for a little. He knocked on Sam’s room, which had stopped playing music at some point in the past three hours. “I’m about to start cooking. Am I expecting you for dinner?” His mother used to ask the same thing after his sister and he fought. Though she was always much more snarkier.

He didn’t expect a reply but Sam eventually muttered out, “You’re just gonna tell me Dean’s right, because he’s always right even when he’s not.”

“Don’t put words in my mouth.” After nearly a minute of silence, Benny sighed, “I don’t think Dean was reasonable.”

It was enough for Sam hesitantly call out, “No?"

“Yeah. But I’m not gonna talk to a door about it.”

The door creaked open. Sam creeped out while barely looking Benny in the eye.

After he finally moved directly in front of Benny, the older man spoke in his _I-am-totally-a-mature-adult_ tone. “You gotta understand, your brother literally fought for everything he has. So when you got other people ready to dress you up, Dean’s feeling threatened.”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with him.” he pouted. Often, it’s hard to remember that Sam is a child, what with his ridiculous brain and how he holds himself. He acts as the adult of the house the majority of the time. But in moments like these, it’s almost surprising.

“He works hard to put clothes on your back. So when these other parents offer to, it’s like they’re saying Dean’s not doing enough.” 

“I know.” Sam bit his lip, and would probably stomp his feet if he was a few years younger. His lips wobbled, and the infamous puppy eyes came into play. “But it’s not fair. It’s not fair that Dean’s always strapped for cash but when I find a way around it, I get yelled at. I thought he’d be happy, you know? He’s always complaining that I’m growing out of my clothes too fast…“

It was true. Benny likes to compare the first (unpleasant) time he met Sam and now, nearly a foot of a difference. 

“You do deserve nice things, kid.” Sam stared hopeful. His eyes still wide and very dog-like. “I’ll talk to Dean about it when he gets home.” He wasn’t excited by any means at the prospect of that conversation, but he had a few tricks to soften Dean like butter.

“Really?”

“Yeah. But you gotta apologize to him too.” Benny frowned at him. “It crossed a line, and you know it.”

Sam groaned in regret and sat down on the couch. His eyes closed, “I'm such a shitty brother. At the end, I mean—it didn't mean anything.” 

Benny bobbed his head, “Anger gets the best of us.”

“I feel really bad.” He slumped further into the couch. “I’m glad Dean fought for me.”

“Me too.” Benny replied easily. “You’re a good kid, Sam.” 

He heard a sniffle, and to be honest, he was as awkward as Dean when it came to moments. “Okay, how ‘bout that dinner! Start cutting up some garlic, I’m feeling Italian tonight.”

**Author's Note:**

> All parts of this fic are in chronological order.


End file.
